Pyogenic liver abscess of a male patient with diabetes mellitus due to Escherichia coli with fever and chills as the only symptoms

Abstract

Pyogenic liver abscesses (PLAs) are the most frequent visceral abscesses with predominance in men. They are extremely rare and their mechanism of formation is extended to infection of an anatomically contiguous organ or hematogenous seeding. Diabetes mellitus is a major predisposing factor and if so, the mortality rate is high. The most common clinical presentation forms are fever with chills, abdominal pain and hepatomegaly. In the present report we present the case of a 65-year-old Greek male patient with history significant for diabetes mellitus, who attended the emergency department complaining of fever and chills for five days. The final diagnosis was pyogenic liver abscess of the right lobe. Blood cultures were positive for Escherichia coli. The patient was treated with broad spectrum antibiotics and percutaneous drainage of the abscess. To our knowledge, this is the first pyogenic liver abscess in a diabetic patient due to E. coli reported in Western Greece.